Broken Leg advice needed , new question post #33

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seminolewind

seminolewind

Flock Mistress
Premium Feather Member
15 Years
Sep 6, 2007
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Corydon, Indiana
My neighbor's hen has a broken leg. It's either at the hock or right above it. You can feel it crunch when it's moved. It's completed floppy. What do I do? Can she be healed?
She's a real nice Delaware or Barred Rock hen.
 
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I'm not real sure what to tell you, but if it were me and the leg was still warm (good blood supply) I would try to wrap it up. Don't wrap too tight because you will cut off blood supply, but wrap firmly enough to set the leg. If it heals, she may have a limp, if it doesn't heal at least you tried.
 
Use anything to stabilize it as best as you can...

It CAN be saved!

Here is what I did with my OEGB when her leg broke...

Popsicle sticks/Safety Pins/Paperclips & Gauze & Scotch Tape

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Three months later (she lived in the house in a shoe box and went cricket hunting and moth hunting for snacks every night for weeks)

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She gardens with me
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Has a strange limp, but it slowly disappears... today she's almost two and a pain in the rear
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(We baby her a LOT)
 
One of my BA hens broke her leg in half (she got away from the fox, though!) and I set it between 2 sponges.
I used 2 stiff sponges. New ones are too soft. I used one that had been wet and allowed to dry so that it was stiff. I cut it in half legnthwise to the same size as her leg - her entire leg. I then put the leg as straight as I could, placed the stiff sponge pieces on either side & vet-wrapped them. I left it on for 3 weeks.
week #1 - she mostly sat around... hopped to food & water
week #2 - started to put a little weight on foot, but still wouldn't roost
week #3 - was walking with a limp, but almost normally
At the end of 3 weeks, I took off the splint. She has a large deformed bump (probably calcium deposits at this point) now, but she walks, jumps, and roosts normally. She favored it a bit at first, but I'm just glad she can still walk. She literally escaped from the jaws of a fox!
 
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I am going to the neighbor's first thing in the morning, I'll get the hen and give it a go. Thanks, she's very cute, but if she heals, I will not want to give her back.
 
Chickens aren't as "fragile" as people make it out to be, they're tough little creatures!
I'm surprised my little OEGB survived, everyone wanted to euthanize her since they said she was just suffering. Nowadays, she gets homecooked meal, taken indoors with *friends* when its cold, hangs out at "chicken care" (lol, she's like my little child) and I watch her like a hawk. She's the only birds allowed to run inside the house!
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Good luck!
I know it sounds a little red neck, but the splint did the trick!
As long as you get the bone straightened, the leg will heal. Maybe crooked, but healed
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BTW, her leg was broken right at the calf; above the knee? LOL below the hips. It was really hard to bandage it, but I did it. It even turned green and blue (from swelling). With a lot of crying and bandaging her up, I gained the best little friend ever
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i took a wildlife rehab course 5 years ago and became certified to help animals, we learned about avian wing wraps and wrap for limbs, and although this wrap is meant for temporary use, it is very effective. i was going to scan a copy of my manual but my copy machine isnt working so i found another source on the internet.
the wrap is called a Robert Jones bandage and it is a very effective, though (sapposed to be) temporary, its an all around bandage that provides not only immobilization, but compression and support to the limb. It provides an excellent stabilization of leg fractures that not only prevents edema but supports in instances of leg trauma (muscle lesions). whenever possible stirrups made from tape should be placed on the leg to prevent slippage and turning of the bandage. the stirrups should be placed anteriorly and posteriorly, not on the sides of the foot (medially and laterally). You should use vet wrap if possible and the leg wrap when finished should have a diameter that is three times that of the unwrapped leg, this will provide good support and compression. Under the wrap you can use cotton balls at the joints to provide more comfort and to prevent sores and to insure that the chickens circulation will be functional. if vet wrap is unavailable adhesive tape can be used, check the toes two times a day for swelling or coldness, if this or spreading of the toes is seen remove the wrap immediatly as these are signs are indications that circulation is inadequate.


here is the link to the vet website that shows pictures and explains how to make a robert jones bandage, if you need any help please pm me or leave a message here, but a pm would be a faster means of communication. good luck

http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/orthopod/csfr/terms/robertjonesbandagecipage.htm
 
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